Let’s talk Art: Here and in the region
Alnoor Mitha
The team behind this year’s edition of the upcoming Colombo Art Biennale have been untangling notions of spaces. ‘Conceiving space’, the theme for the biennale is a result of these explorations and taps into the zeitgeist of Colombo as it stands today – a mutable city at the crossroads of change. The theme ‘Conceiving space’and the work which will beckon the city’s artgoers next month seek to reimagine the concept of space and the way we engage with spaces.
This year’s CAB is its most ambitious, yet. And a quick glimpse of what to expect is warranted.Curated by Alnoor Mitha, CAB 2016 will feature 50 artists across multiple locations around the city and exhibits span installation, sculpture, sound and performance. The Colombo Art Biennale’s architects programme (led by Gihan Karunaratne) is a first and there’s added emphasis on education and community engagement programmes this year.
Annoushka Hempel, Founding Artistic Director of CAB, explains that the Art Biennale started off as an exercise to create a space for artists, and an exploration of art as a language for communication and as a conduit for social change through themes relevant to Sri Lanka. Past themes for the Colombo Art Biennale include ‘Imagining Peace’(2009), ‘Becoming’ (2012) and ‘Making History’ in 2014.
This year, the Biennale explores the multiple facets of public and private space – whether as place, protest, community, history, imagined, performative, virtual, ritualistic or architectural – and is brimming with exhibits and events which engage with this theme.One of the sites, for instance is the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour – prodding people to explore and view a site beyond its functionality, perhaps even see it anew. The programme includes artists from Jaffna, Puttalam, Batticaloa, Gampaha and Colombo while more established artists have voluntarily taken a step back to provide an opportunity for emerging artists to showcase their work.
“What we wanted to do with this edition was to create a space where dialogues which have not been happening, need to happen. Conceiving space’ came up as a theme, within that space. We are bringing in a focus on unity, reconciliation and community engagement – we’re looking at what’s going on locally in Sri Lanka and also at what’s going on in the region and among international artists of South Asian origin,” explains Hempel. “What we’re looking here is to create a dialogue within the South Asian region, and Colombo to be a hub for the South Asian region,” she sums up simply.
A desire to trigger cultural conversations is also evident in CAB 2016 curator, Alnoor Mitha’s vision. Mitha is a Senior Research Fellow (Asian Cultures), Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester School of Art and founding artistic director of the Asia Triennial Manchester (2008 to present). He brings in 20 years’ experience to this year’s CAB, having worked in Britain and internationally, as artist, curator, writer, and producer.For the past few months he has been at work, selecting and working with the artists, offering guidance through any concepts and building towards the final works to be exhibited.
“I’m delighted to be here and to be working with Colombo artists,” he noted. Mitha added that for CAB 2016, he intends to create conversation and a notion of resonance in and around the art. Coming from a background as a practitioner, Mitha’s curatorial philosophy is informed by a firm avowal to support artists. During his stint in Sri Lanka, he hopes to build relationships both locally and internationally which will extend beyond CAB’s conclusion and help Sri Lankan artists to reach out to wider audiences, upping their ante.
Annoushka Hempel. Pix by Anuradha Bandara
| Biennale at a glance The Colombo Art Biennale will be held from December 2 – 20. Here’s what to expect in brief. For more information, visit http://colomboartbiennale.com/ * The visual arts programme will feature 25 local artists and 25 international artists exhibiting at several different locations around Colombo.Some of the event spaces include the JDA Perera Art Gallery, Old Town Hall, Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour, Slave Island, Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Theertha Red Dot Gallery and Prana Lounge. * The launch of CAB’s first architects programme which takes place from December 3 – 11. * An educational programme which gives the opportunity for students to assist the architects and artists featured at CAB in the production of their work and attend creative workshops. * Community engagement programme which will see international artists working with the local community, educational collaborations, performances and a symposium. * Artist in residency programme, mentoring programmes as well as independent art projects and exhibits which will run in parallel to CAB. |